Is the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel out to get Marc Marotta? A story that ran last week all but accused Marotta of putting in the fix to get his client, Applus+, a contract to perform the state’s vehicle emissions tests.
This is not the first time the newspaper has gone after Marotta in this fashion. Remember “Travelgate”?
Beginning in the fall of 2005 and continuing into the summer of 2006, the JS ran many stories suggesting that when he served as Department of Administration secretary, Marotta connived with Georgia Thompson to get a deal for Adelman Travel. Marotta denied this, but the stories continued until Thompson was convicted, with no evidence of Marotta’s culpability. As for Thompson, a federal court of appeals ultimately threw out her conviction. In the meantime, Marotta’s reputation had been indelibly sullied.
Last week’s story looks like more of the same. It reports that “state records show Applus+ got the deal with the help of Marc Marotta, a former top aide to Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.” This leaves the reader imagining there is some state paperwork showing the company got the deal because of Marotta. No such evidence is presented.
Instead, the story reads like sour grapes by Envirotest, one of two other companies that lost the bid. Envirotest has filed a legal appeal of the decision, and its accusations drive the JS article.
The story says Marotta and Applus+ met with DOT officials, including Secretary Frank Busalacchi. But according to Chris Klein, a spokesperson for DOT, “out of the three companies, the one that met the most with DOT and the secretary’s office was Envirotest.” Klein says he told this to JS reporter Patrick Marley, but the quote wasn’t included.
Nor is Marotta given any opportunity to defend himself. Once again, his reputation has been sullied, with no indication the reporter ever bothered to call Marotta.
Marley does say Applus+ had a lower bid, but understates the difference, with Applus+ bidding $3.78 million and Envirotest $4 million. In fact, for the hybrid style of emissions test program the state decided on, Envirotest made a bid of $4.239 million, higher than both the other companies competing, and 12 percent higher than Applus+.
The story also fails to consider the lobbying clout of the other bidders. Systech International was represented by Bill Broydrick, the former Democratic legislator widely seen as the most powerful lobbyist in Madison. Envirotest was represented by Ronald Kuehn, a well-traveled DeWitt Ross & Stevens operative who handles 22 different clients in the state capital.
And the story repeats Envirotest’s accusation that the hybrid method DOT favored was illegal because it allows a private company that may itself do car repair to handle emissions tests. But Envirotest happily made a bid on this “illegal” method. In fact, DOT’s approach was requested by the legislature in the last budget, which instructed the department to “conduct a study of alternative program models … which… shall include examining the possibility of remote emissions testing and testing performed by certified motor vehicle dealers.”
Sure, Envirotest’s appeal deserved some coverage, but the length and front-page placement of the story suggests a vendetta against Marotta. When DOT files a legal response to Envirotest, will the JS give it front page coverage? Call me dubious.
Milwaukee’s Anti-Lawn Leader
A recent piece in The New Yorker traces the history and harmful environmental consequences of the American lawn. It credits two people as the key leaders in raising awareness of the problem: Rachel Carson, author of the watershed book Silent Spring, and Lorrie Otto of Milwaukee, founder of the Wild Ones. The Wild Ones now have chapters in 12 states.
Otto is the subject of the First Person profile in the August issue of Milwaukee Magazine (it’s on newsstands or you can order it online). She was a leader in helping push Wisconsin to become the first state to ban DDT back in 1970. The Wild Ones promote the use of native plants and wildflowers in American yards, rather than the lawns which are typically supported with a wide range of chemicals, all documented in detail in The New Yorker.
The story reports that lawns are growing at the rate of 600 square miles a year and require two hundred gallons of water per person, per day. It’s a fascinating, but alarming piece.
Names for a New Film Festival
Somehow the controversy over the dueling film festivals won’t go away. Shepherd Express owner Louis Fortis has turned down a payment of $54,000 to relinquish control of the Milwaukee International Film Festival, and one person close to the Shepherd says Fortis could consider suing Milwaukee Film. The latter group, led by philanthropist Chris Abele, hired the film festival staff after Fortis laid them off and has announced its intention to put on an international festival beginning in 2009.
Abele’s Argosy Foundation has pledged $100,000 to the new group, as has the Herzfeld Foundation. Both gave $50,000 in the past, so the new group should be better funded.
Meanwhile, what’s to stop Abele and company from paying Fortis nothing, as opposed to $54,000? Anyone is free to start a Milwaukee film festival; you can’t patent that concept. Meaning any suit is unlikely to succeed unless the new group uses a name so similar to MIFF that it amounts to theft.
So let’s bring on the names! We’ve already had some interesting suggestions: Fresh Coast Film Festival (from anonymous, and no, it wasn’t Mayor Tom Barrett, who has promoted that tagline for this city); Milwaukee Film Festival or Fourth Coast Festival (submitted by K – a relative of Kafka, perhaps?).
But the biggest crop of names came from communications consultant Ron Legro, who once worked as a TV and movie critic for the old Milwaukee Sentinel, and you’ll find his full list in the comments section of my column of last week. The best ones: North Coast Film Festival, Milwaukee Premiere Film Festival, International Film Festival of Milwaukee (do I sense the lawyers circling?), Milwaukee World Film Festival, Milwaukee Film Odyssey and the Orson Welles International Film Festival (but Welles was born in Kenosha).
Any other ideas out there? Send me yours and I’ll publish them.
Meanwhile, Ned Yost still manages the Brewers. And that’s got the Sports Nut nervous.
